


Violin Lessons

by keitaiijima



Category: Battle Royale - All Media Types, Battle Royale - Takami Koushun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24917353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keitaiijima/pseuds/keitaiijima
Summary: Izumi Kanai approaches Toshinori Oda for violin lessons. He naturally assumes he will hate having to spend time with one of his classmates, but he might be surprised.
Relationships: Kanai Izumi/Oda Toshinori
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Violin Lessons

Toshinori Oda hated all his classmates. This had been a fact since forever, all the way through primary school, and it was certainly true in Junior High.  
Every day he cursed his father for sending him to a public school. What had he ever done to deserve such demeaning treatment? It was ridiculous.  
He had to listen to his classmates discuss their own promiscuous, vulgar activities. Hear those annoying, braindead girls giggle as they talked about which boy was the cutest. Most of all, he hated when he had to listen to Shuya Nanahara play his electric guitar; always some American rock song. Pure garbage. Toshinori referred to it simply as “ _noise_ ”. To himself, of course. He avoided talking to his classmates as much as possible. Toshinroi was not shy. If anything, he was very confident in his own strengths and superiority to the rest of the vulgar masses. It would simply be degrading to have to associate in them in any way.

It was true Toshinori was not the only one in the class who belonged to a wealthy family. Kazuo Kiriyama was probably even richer than him ( _Ugh, I try not to think about that_ ). Kyoichi Motobuchi and Yukie Utsumi both had fathers with respected governmental positions. And then there was Izumi Kanai, the daughter of the town official, who, along with her parents, attended many of the same social gatherings as Toshinori and his family. However, all of them were still considered vulgar and inferior to Toshinori. The company they kept, their behaviours in class, it was all just so… disgusting.

Which is why, when Toshinori was approached by Izumi at one such social gathering, he found himself mentally groaning. Izumi had tapped his shoulder, asking if she could speak to him for a moment.  
“Sure,” Toshinori politely responded. He always made an effort to appear like a good upper-class boy to his classmates, no matter how much he despised them. “What is this regarding?”  
Izumi smiled nervously, her hands fidgeting. “Well… You see. This is a little embarrassing. I don’t want to seem like… Like I am taking advantage of your talents.”  
That certainly peaked Toshinori’s interest. Any reference to his _talents_ were enough to put a real smile on his face.  
“Oh?” he asked, hoping it did not sound too arrogant.  
Izumi turned a little pink, but smiled too.  
“Yes, well… It was my parent’s idea, anyway. So I suppose I can blame them! Anyway, obviously, we all know how great you are at the violin. They still talk about how you played that last Christmas party. And whilst I do play the piano, they think it would be beneficial for me to… Expand my musical talents, too. They, well, _we_ , were hoping you would consider teaching me. You would be compensated for your time, of course.”

That was new. Usually, everyone seemed to be half-asleep when Toshinori was playing, only waking up when that mediocre (at best) Shuya began his flashy spectacle of a show. Although, now that he thought about it, he seemed to remember Izumi looking genuinely impressed at times with his performance. Of course, someone like her would be his best bet at any form of appreciation in that class.  
The idea that someone was actually interested in his talents for once, made him feel oddly proud. _Not that I need their validation. They mean nothing to me. Still…  
_ “Of course. I think that would be possible to arrange,” Toshinori agreed with a nod. Izumi’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together happily.  
“Oh, thank you! My parents will be thrilled! They will arrange something with yours. Thank you, Oda!” she beamed.

Toshinori could only hope he had not made a terrible mistake.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Is it alright?” Izumi asked, looking at him almost expectantly. It was two weeks later and their first session was coming to an end. One hour after learning the basics of tuning, grip, chords… And Izumi had just finished her first attempt of playing a couple of them.  
Toshinori huffed in response to her question.  
“I would not say it’s _alright_. I suppose it is not horrid, but _alright_ still implies I feel no suffering listening to it. And I do,” he said flatly. “I worry we will not even get you to _adequate_ , with this starting point.”  
Izumi blinked at him. She seemed to still look at him with a hopeful expression, as if waiting for him to break out into a smile and tell her he was merely joking. When a few more seconds passed and this did not happen, she lowered her gaze.  
“Oh,” she said, a small smile on her lips. “Oh, dear. I’m sorry to put you through such… _suffering._ ”  
  
Toshinori shrugged. _Alright, so the talentless girl is offended. Like I care._  
“Well, then,” he said, expecting her to want to end the session right there. However, Izumi continued speaking.  
“However,” she said, raising her eyes again and looking straight into his, as her own were shining with determination. “If anyone can teach me how to do this… How to do this _properly_ , it’s you, right? Or… Are you saying I am so bad, not even you can teach me? Are my violin skills so bad, yours are not good enough to make up for it? Do you want to give up?”  
Although her tone was polite, her words were an unmistaken challenge.  
 _How dare you,_ Toshinori thought, fuming on the inside. _How dare you question my talents in any way?_

Outwardly, he gave her a polite smile, clearing his throat.  
“Heh… Of course not. I can teach anyone, even you. That is why your parents acquired me, is it not? I will not let this be my defeat,” he said, feeling his pride on the line.  
Izumi let out a sigh of relief. Her look of determination had vanished and laughed nervously.  
“Oh, wow. Thank you. I was worried I went too far… That I insulted you. I wasn’t sure that would work,” she laughed again, wiping her forehead dramatically. “I would be so embarrassed to come out of this with… With nothing. Thank you, Oda, for not giving up yet.”  
 _It’s not for your sake, foolish girl._ Toshinori silently groaned yet kept up his smile and polite façade. He would show her just how great he was. Her now, and later… All of them. They would all know, eventually.  
“Let’s get back to it then,” he said calmly, as Izumi raised her violin with a nod.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By their fourth lesson, Toshinori was beginning to feel rather pleased with Izumi’s progress. Sure, she was a long way from playing Bach, but it no longer made his ears bleed. An improvement for sure.  
“It is getting alright,” he told her, which prompted a way too big of a smile on her face than what could be expected from such a lacklustre compliment.  
“It is, isn’t it? My father is hoping I can do a performance at his work’s Summer party. Honestly, up until today, the idea made me want to pack my bags and run off to China. But now…” Izumi smiled gratefully to him. Suddenly, she raised a finger, pointing to him. “Oh! But Oda, of course. We should do it together. We should do a duet. Doesn’t that sound fun?”  
  
 _Dear God, no, that does not sound fun_. Staring at her, Toshinori wished to instantly turn her down. However, to his dismay, he found that something about her excited tone and hopeful expression made it impossible to do so. He had never before thought he would struggle in rejecting such a stupid proposition. And now…  
“I suppose it could be… fun,” he heard himself agree. “When is this party, exactly?”

The session continued without much development. In all honesty, Toshinori was slightly distracted. Why had he not just said no? He was certain he did not want to do it. So what on earth made her big puppy eyes impossible to say no to? The thoughts spinning around in his head were truly bothersome. He was abruptly interrupted by Izumi, who sighed deeply.  
“I’m sorry. I made so many mistakes just now. I thought for sure you would stop me,” she said, apologetic.  
Toshinori huffed lightly.  
“I wanted to hear you make it through, despite the mistakes. You will learn for next time,” he said. This was a lie. He had not even picked up on the mistakes, too distracted.

Annoyed with himself, he got up from his seat where he had been watching her.  
“Let’s end it here,” he said flatly.  
Izumi looked a little surprised. “I thought we still have ten more minutes? Can I not run the song again? I think I can do it this time.”  
“No! I mean, no,” Toshinori said, clearing his throat. He was beginning to feel like a matter of urgency to get her out, so that he could have some time to himself. “I’ve heard enough for today.”  
Izumi did not seem to take any offence to this bluntness, and only gave him another apologetic smile.  
“Next time, it will be better. I promise,” she said softy, giving him a small bow before leaving.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next time _was_ better. A lot better. Toshinori listened, for once impressed. It was not that it was in any way flawless, but he could tell that she had practiced little details, which he appreciated. As Izumi played, her face concentrated and jaw clenched slightly as she focused so hard on getting the position of the bow correct with each movement of her hand. Toshinori suddenly realized he had been smiling fondly as he watched her.  
 _No. That will not do_ , he thought, angry at himself. He switched to a more neutral expression, sitting up straighter.  
When she finished, Izumi almost held her breath, waiting for his critique.

“Well, that was…” Toshinori began, unsure how to word it. It was certainly an improvement. He had been almost transfixed at one point. However, he was not sure if that was because of the skill of her playing, or with the girl herself. And the fact that he could not distinguish between the two, was increasingly bothering him. “… Still alright. I think we have a long way to go.”  
Izumi nodded, waiting for more. Toshinori gave her some general feedback about how she could improve the clarity and flow of the sound, and she took it all in, still nodding as he spoke.

“Do you think I will be ready in time for the party?” Izumi asked once he finished with his assessment.  
Toshinori clicked his tongue. She probably could make it through a simple piece at this point, as long as she had the chords in front of her. Especially with him as a duet partner, to save her if she slipped up. Still, the party was in four three weeks, which meant only through more sessions with Izumi.  
“No, I’m not so sure,” he blurted out. “I think we might need to add another session each week. We have to practice our number too, so maybe we need to meet three times that last week before the event,” he explained.

Izumi smiled.  
“You would do that? Thank you so much! I’m sorry for taking so much of your time,” she said, holding the violin gently against her chest.  
 _Don’t be,_ Toshinori thought, before correcting himself. _I mean, yes. Good. Apologize. Stupid girl…  
_ “It’s no bother,” he said awkwardly, glancing to the side. “Your playing will reflect on my abilities as a teacher, anyway. I do not want to be humiliated.”  
“Oh, no. I understand,” Izumi quickly replied, waving her hand. “I promise, I won’t let you down.”

As they walked towards the front door (the first time Toshinori had offered to walk out with her, which had happened almost automatically now), Izumi peaked into the open door to the living room. She stopped, curious. Toshinori stopped too.  
“What is it?” he asked, not sure what she was looking at.  
Izumi smiled, turning to him. “Your piano. I just saw it. It’s beautiful,” she commented.  
Toshinori shrugged. He had never cared much for the piano. The sound was nothing compared to the violin, naturally. It was more there for decoration, or for when they hired a pianist for cocktail parties.  
“Oh. I guess it is,” he said casually. “We hardly use it.”  
  
Izumi’s eyes widened.  
“Really? That’s a shame. It’s so pretty, yet get no attention?” she asked, her tone playful. Toshinori glanced into the living room, and then back at the girl. He considered it for a second, before speaking.  
“Would you like to play something?”  
Izumi seemed surprised by the question, but quickly smiled warmly, nodding.  
“I think you will find my piano playing is much more agreeable than what I do with the violin. After all your wonderful help,” she laughed, as Toshinori led her inside. She sat down by the piano a bit awkwardly but tested the keys softly.

“Blow me away then,” Toshinori said, intending to sound sarcastic, but instead realizing he sounded a little intrigued. Izumi sent him another smile, before she began playing. Toshinori recognized the song instantly as Vivaldi; which obviously would have sounded better on the violin, but oh well. At least Izumi had chosen a classic.  
She looked so different when she played the piano. Her harsh look of concentration and nervousness was gone, and she played with such an ease and confidence. Although it could not compare to his own skills, Toshinori still found himself impressed. And an even more annoying thought was…  
 _She looks beautiful._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Toshinori Oda hated all his classmates. This had been a fact since forever. Until one day, to his dismay, it no longer was.


End file.
